Estonia gunman kills himself

A gunman who took two hostages at the Defense Ministry building in the capital Tallinn has killed himself, police said. It was earlier reported that he was killed by special forces. The hostages were freed unharmed. Police cordoned off the area after the attacker burst into the ministry earlier in the day. He threatened staff with an explosive device and then opened fire, media said. His motives were not immediately clear. The attacker was identified as one Karen Drambyan, 57, a member of the United Leftist Party of Estonia, a group with strong links to the country’s Russian community. The prosecutor’s office denied earlier reports that he was a military man.